Special receptacle or package – For body treatment article or material
Patent
1998-10-09
1999-08-24
Ackun, Jacob K.
Special receptacle or package
For body treatment article or material
606107, A61B 1700
Patent
active
059413905
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
The present invention relates to packaging including a device for folding intraocular implants made up of a haptic portion and of a flexible optical or lens portion and having a folding axis.
An intraocular implant constitutes an optical system for correcting the vision of the human eye and can, in some cases, be used instead of contact lenses or external correcting glasses. An intraocular implant essentially comprises an optical portion of generally circular or slightly oval shape constituting the correcting optical system proper, and a haptic portion which serves for placing the optical portion inside the eye, for fixing it, and for holding it in the correct position.
New operative techniques make it possible to reduce the size of the incision made in the eye. Thus, with a cataract operation, the "phaco-emulsification" operative technique makes possible the ablation of the opaque crystalline lens of the eye by inserting into the eye an ultrasonic probe having an irrigation/suction system. Under the combined action of ultrasonics and the flow of a balanced saline solution, the lens is removed by emulsification.
Especially compared with prior techniques, that operative technique presents the particular advantage of requiring only a small incision to be made in the cornea, using a knife pre-calibrated to 3.2 mm, to enable the instruments required for such ablation to be inserted into the eye. It will be understood that under such circumstances it is advantageous to have implants that can be inserted into the eye via the incision that is made for the phaco-emulsification operation, i.e. via an incision that is about 3 mm to 4 mm long.
That is why new, "flexible", intraocular implants have been developed. Such an implant has an optical portion made out of a flexible material which enables the optical portion to be folded before the implant is inserted into the eye via the incision, with the optical portion returning to its initial shape after it has been placed in the eye. At present, two major types of substance are used for making flexible optics. These substances are generally referred to by their generic names, being firstly flexible acrylics such as PHEMA, and secondly polysiloxane gel. These materials have the required optical properties and they are also biocompatible.
When an intraocular implant having a flexible optic is being placed, one of the crucial points is actually folding the implant, since this step requires great accuracy and a high degree of dexterity on the part of the practitioner, firstly to obtain a folded implant that is of as small a width as possible, and secondly to keep the implant folded without it escaping or being damaged. It will be understood that choosing the zones via which the implant is held in the folded state is fundamental in satisfying the above-mentioned conditions.
At present, there exist several techniques for folding implants and placing them, all of which techniques attempt to solve those problems. A first solution consists in using an implant which has previously been folded and which is held in the folded state in its package. That solution is unsatisfactory since the length of time the implant is stored prior to use can be as long as five years, and it is highly probable that the implant will have suffered deformation including a residual component which would be catastrophic in terms of varying the optical characteristics of the implant; in addition, the problem of gripping the implant prior to inserting it into the eye remains unsolved.
Another solution consists in placing the folded implant in a pipe and in guiding the implant into the eye by pushing it. Under such circumstances, the implant is subjected to numerous mechanical stresses and it is difficult to control its placement within the eye.
The solution presently in most widespread use employs a pair of forceps: a first forceps that is simple, having parallel arms for holding the implant along a diameter of its optical portion, which diameter is selected to be as close as possible to the folding axis t
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Duchesne Aldo
Durand Dominique
Franceschi Fran.cedilla.ois
Ackun Jacob K.
Corneal Laboratoires
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